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Claim that opening the dam in India caused water to rush into Bangladesh quickly is incorrect, says an expert
Published : 23 Aug 2024, 04:42 AM
Weather updates for August already forecast that another round of floods may ravage Bangladesh towards the end of the monsoon.
But the residents of Feni could never have imagined that the floods would take such a catastrophic turn for them.
Heavy downpours in the upstream and mountain runoffs have inundated at least ten districts across Bangladesh in the span of a day.
The devastating floods have marooned nearly 586,000 people and affected over 3.6 million nationwide. At least five deaths have been confirmed so far.
Feni is reeling from one of the worst floods in recent memory amid mountain runoffs from upstream India and unrelenting rain. On Thursday morning, the water in Feni’s Muhuri River was flowing 100 cm above the danger line, putting over 350,000 people in danger.
Flood victims say they have never seen such intense flooding and the situation continues to deteriorate as nearly 95 percent of the Fulgazi, Parshuram, and Chhagalnaiya Upazilas are underwater. Road connections have also been severed and there is power outage. Mobile networks are down in most areas too.
Relatives of the flood victims from other districts are anxious, as they are not being able to contact their family members.
Bangladesh is having to see a calamitous image of mother nature at a time when its interim government has only started working to move the country towards stability after 36 days of a student-led mass uprising.
On Thursday, Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus held a meeting with his interim cabinet colleagues and urged them to stand by those affected by the severe flooding in Bangladesh.
Since the beginning of the floods on Wednesday, several social media users have been blaming India for the devastating floods in Bangladesh.
Students have been protesting at several universities across Bangladesh, blaming India for opening the gates of the Dumbur Dam in Tripura.
However, India's Ministry of External Affairs has already issued a statement saying: "We have seen the concerns of Bangladeshi citizens regarding the opening of the Dumbur Dam in Tripura, being cited as the cause of the flood situation in the eastern districts of the country. This is factually incorrect."
As such, bdnews24.com spoke to several professionals to try and understand the cause of the floods.
However, experts have mostly blamed the situation on the excessive amount of rainfall in a short period of time.
Samarendra Karmakar, the former director general of the Met Department, told bdnews24.com: "The way it is raining in Bangladesh, it is also raining in Assam, Meghalaya and Tripura. This is having an impact on Bangladesh. "
Affected districts: Feni, Cumilla, Chattogram, Khagrachhari, Noakhali, Moulvibazar, Habiganj, Brahmanbaria, Sylhet and Lakshmipur.
Impact: 65 Upazilas in 10 districts and 495 Unions have been affected by the flood. 586,040 families are marooned, and 36,45,552 are affected.
Disaster management: As many as 82,694 people and 7,755 livestock are taking shelter in 2,246 shelters. 506 medical teams are working in the field.
THE HORRORS
Feni has been hit hardest among the five districts.
On Wednesday, the overflowing waves of Muhuri swept away several areas of the district and the situation only worsened on Thursday.
More than 50 villages in the Sadar Union, Anandapur, Munshirhat, and Amjadhat Union have been flooded.
Similarly, over 50 villages in Parshuram’s Mirzanagar, Chithalia, Bakshmahmud, and municipal town areas have been inundated.
Several villages in Chagalnaiya’s Pathan Nagar, Radhanagar and Shuvopur Unions are waterlogged.
Roads, ponds and crop lands have been submerged in the flooding. In some areas, the water level has reached the roofs of the houses.
Nearly half of the mobile network grids are down due to flash floods.
Feni Additional Deputy Commissioner (General) Raihan Mehbub told bdnews24.com, “The flood situation in three Upazilas is dire. Most areas are under water. Also, many areas in Feni Sadar, Sonagazi and Daganbhuiya Upazilas are affected.”
Stating that 350,000 people are trapped by the water in three Upazilas, he said: "The Army, Navy, BGB, local people and students of the Anti-discrimination Student Movement are working to rescue the people trapped by the water."
But the loss of communication and strong currents are hampering rescue efforts. As time passes, people are becoming more desperate to escape the flooding.
From Wednesday night to Thursday morning, about 30,000 people were rescued and taken to shelters, the additional deputy commissioner said.
Ismail Hossain came to a hotel on Station Road in Feni city with five family members from the Mirzanagar area of Parshuram.
He said, "There was tension throughout the night. The people are in pain at the devastation from the floods. I was forced to leave the house to save my life with only a few clothes.”
Locals said that, at the beginning of July, the water of the Muhuri, the Kahua and the Silonia rivers rose and breached their banks in 15 places. Earlier this month, more than 100 villages were flooded after the dam collapsed at 11 other places after repairs.
The first round of flooding led to over Tk 300 million in damages to infrastructure, rice, crops and fish. Fifteen days later, the area was flooded again.
In addition to the 26 dams that were breached in the first round of flooding, another dam has been breached too. Authorities believe the damages this time could also number in the hundreds of millions.
Meanwhile, many people living outside Feni are worried about the whereabouts of their relatives.
Some have taken to social media, to ask for help to rescue their family trapped due to the flood.
Jahan E Gulshan, an official of the Department of Women's Affairs, posted on Facebook to look for the family of a friend who are stranded in Chhagalnaiya Upazila.
She wrote: "A rescuer is needed urgently. My friend's family is stranded near the primary school of Feni’s Chhagalnaiya Upazila. Please rescue them."
In Cumilla, one person was electrocuted, a second was hit by a tree, while a third drowned.
Several areas along the Dhaka-Chittagong highway have also been submerged. The inundated roads halted traffic on the Dhaka-Sylhet highway on Thursday.
Train service from Chattogram to the rest of the country is suspended as the flood situation in the port city has worsened.
Over 35,000 people have been marooned in 31 Unions of Chandpur district due to four days of torrential rain. Power supply has been disrupted in the flood-affected areas for the past two days.
Several areas of the city are waterlogged due to the floodwater.
The residents of Chandpur Irrigation Project area have been suffering a lot due to lack of proper drainage system.
Over 20,000 families have been affected by the floods in Chattogram’s Fatikchhari, Sitakunda and Mirsarai Upazilas.
According to the Fatikchhari Agriculture Office, 14,580 hectares of Aman paddy seedlings, 50 hectares of seedbeds, 850 hectares of Aush, and 350 hectares of vegetables have been submerged in the Upazila due to the incessant rainfall and flooding.
Road communication between Khagrachhari and Chattogram has also been cut off due to the rising water levels. Many areas of the district have been inundated due to heavy downpours. The floodwater has also made its way into the shelter located in Merung Union. As many as 50 villages in three unions of Dighinala have been flooded.
Disaster Management Advisor Faruk E Azam said: "Our first priority is to save people's lives. The army, navy, and other voluntary organisations who have experience in dealing with natural disasters are working with us. "
Rehabilitation will begin once the situation improves, he added.
CAUSES OF DEVASTATION
Flooding in Bangladesh during July and August is not uncommon. However, this year, the scale and intensity in the affected districts has been unusually severe.
Typically, such areas do not experience this level of flooding, nor does the situation deteriorate so rapidly.
The water has risen so quickly in some places that people had no time to reach shelters.
Experts attribute this to abnormal rainfall in the upstream regions over the past few days.
From Aug 19-21, Tripura experienced extremely heavy rainfall, recording at least 200 millimetres and the downpour is expected to continue.
Samarendra Karmakar, former director of the Bangladesh Meteorological Department, told bdnews24.com that a low-pressure system formed over the Bay of Bengal recently, lingering over Bangladesh for the past three to four days and still persisting to some extent.
“In recent years, low-pressure systems usually pass further south, but this time it is affecting Bangladesh directly, with the axis of the monsoon remaining over the country, resulting in heavy rainfall.
“The low-pressure system is positioned in a way that allows a large amount of moisture and strong winds from the sea to flow in through Chattogram. This rain will continue until the low-pressure system weakens.”
He also said excessive rain is occurring in India's Assam, Meghalaya, and Tripura, which is impacting Bangladesh.
“Bangladesh is the main outlet for this water, and it’s coming with such force that it’s sweeping away everything in its path.”
While severe floods occurred in the Brahmaputra, Ganges, and Meghna basins in 1988 and 1998, the situation in districts like Cumilla, Feni, and Noakhali has never been as dire as it is now, Samarendra added.
Prof Mashfiqus Salehin of the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology’s Institute of Water and Flood Management told bdnews24.com that the severe flooding is primarily due to the heavy rainfall over the past two to three days.
“We’ve experienced significant rainfall here as well, and when upstream water flows down to areas where we’ve filled up spaces that could have held the water, it means the water spreads over larger areas. We haven’t planned for this adequately. The low-pressure system has had a major impact on the Feni and Muhuri river areas.”
Addressing claims that India has deliberately caused sudden flooding in Bangladesh by opening the Dumbur and Gajoldoba dams, Prof Masfiqus said: “There is no dam on the Feni river; there’s only one on the Gomti River, located 120 metres upstream with a limited capacity.
So, the information that opening the dam has caused water to rush into Bangladesh quickly is incorrect.
“The impact from this would be gradual. The rapid rise in water levels is primarily due to the heavy rainwater quickly reaching the rivers. All barrage gates are open as they cannot be kept closed during the monsoon due to the significant inflow of water. The main culprit for this flood is the rainfall.”
Masfikus also said to effectively manage floods, rain forecasts need to be made at least three to four days in advance so that appropriate measures can be taken.
A specialist associated with the Joint Rivers Commission and the Water Development Board highlighted that the heavy rainfall in the Tripura basin has affected the Khawai, Howrah, Gomti, Muhuri, and Feni rivers.
Simultaneously, heavy rainfall in Bangladesh has exacerbated the flooding in Cumilla, Feni, Noakhali, Moulvibazar, and surrounding areas.
“Our river data sharing with India involves about 14 stations, including one at Gomti in Amarpur. We monitor the water level there, which helps in our flood forecasting. This year's flood in the Tripura basin is unusual, and with substantial rainfall in Bangladesh as well, the combined effect has led to the severe flooding we are witnessing this time.”
GOVERNMENT'S PREPAREDNESS
Following a meeting of the advisory council at the state guesthouse Jamuna on Thursday, Syeda Rizwana Hasan, the advisor for water resources, said the flood situation was the main focus of discussion.
The meeting addressed the government's response, measures for those affected, and how to coordinate efforts within the government.
They also discussed the causes of such floods and steps to prevent future occurrences.
"We've heard there’s been significant rainfall upstream, coupled with heavy rain in our flood-affected districts. The meeting explored what kind of early warnings we could have received and whether we were adequately warned.”
The Indian High Commissioner is set to meet Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus to discuss how countries can work together and what specific actions can be taken to avoid such situations in the future, she said.
Nahid Islam, the information advisor, said: “We are witnessing the upstream waters rushing into Bangladesh, creating this flood. The sudden release of water without prior warning or preparation has shown India's disregard for humanity and lack of cooperation with Bangladesh."
Nahid said the relationship between the two neighbouring countries would not be strained and that state relations would be restored based on fairness.
INDIA'S RESPONSE
Leaders of the Anti-discrimination Student Movement have claimed that the opening of the Dumbur Dam upstream in India has caused the recent flooding.
This has sparked widespread discussion and criticism on social media, leading to protests at many universities.
“We have noted the concerns expressed in Bangladesh that the opening of the Dumbur Dam upstream of the Gomti River in Tripura is the cause of flooding in the eastern districts of Bangladesh. This is factually incorrect,” India’s external affairs ministry said in a statement on Thursday,
The statement explained that the areas adjacent to the Gomti River in both countries have experienced the highest rainfall of the year over the past few days.
The flooding in Bangladesh was primarily caused by water from the dam’s downstream areas.
“Since Aug 21, there has been widespread rainfall across Tripura and the neighbouring districts of Bangladesh. Due to the heavy inflow, water overflowed naturally,” the statement added.
India also said there are three water monitoring stations along the 120-kilometre river path upstream from Bangladesh, including the Amarpur station, from which flood updates are provided to Bangladesh under a bilateral protocol.
“Information on the rising water levels was communicated to Bangladesh until 3pm on Aug 21. However, communication was disrupted due to a power outage caused by the flooding at 6pm,” the statement said.
The ministry also said efforts were made to maintain communication through alternative means to ensure the exchange of urgent information.
FORECAST
The Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre has indicated that heavy rainfall in the country's north-eastern and adjacent upstream areas, as well as in the south-eastern, eastern, and nearby upstream regions, may decrease over the next 24 hours.
The flood situation in low-lying areas near the Manu, Khowai, and Dhala rivers in Moulvibazar and Habiganj districts in the northeastern region could initially stabilise before improving further.
Sardar Uday Raihan, executive engineer of the centre, told bdnews24.com: “The flooding is due to heavy rainfall caused by the monsoon low-pressure system, combined with high tidal surges in the sea, which has prevented the water from fully receding. Water levels may decrease on Friday, and many areas could return to normal by the day after.”
The weather forecast also predicts that due to active monsoon winds, heavy (44-88 mm/24 hours) to very heavy rainfall (over 89 mm/24 hours) may occur in parts of Dhaka, Mymensingh, Khulna, Barishal, Chattogram, and Sylhet divisions over the next 48 hours.
[Writing in English by Arshi Fatiha Quazi and Ruhshabah Tabassum Huda]
